China Breaks Public Silence on SARS

JOE McDONALD

Published 8:00 pm, Sunday, April 13, 2003

Associated Press Writer

Chinese President Hu Jintao said Monday he was "very worried" about a deadly respiratory illness that apparently originated in his country, breaking a public silence that led to allegations China was not taking the disease seriously enough.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao added that the situation was grave and demanded tough measures to fight severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which has infected 1,300 people in China and 3,000 people worldwide.

The comments by Hu and Wen appeared to be part of a shift in strategy by China's government, which repeatedly stressed that the illness was under control even as the death toll rose. The worldwide toll climbed to 144 Monday after four more deaths were reported in China and seven were reported in Hong Kong.

On Monday, state television showed Hu visiting hospitals in the hard-hit southern province of Guangdong, where SARS is believed to have started.

"Since the discovery of the SARS cases, I feel very worried. I feel anxious for the masses," Hu was shown telling medical workers.

It was his first public comment on SARS. In an unusual step, the national evening news broadcast Hu's own voice instead of having an announcer read his comments.

Wen demanded "effective and powerful measures to prevent the spread of the virus … and immediate treatment to ensure people's health," the China Daily newspaper said. Wen called for airline and train passengers to be screened and quarantined if necessary.

"Much progress has been made in combating the disease … but the overall situation remains grave," the Xinhua News Agency and newspapers quoted Wen as saying at a national meeting Sunday on fighting SARS.

The country's earlier stance downplaying SARS sparked an outcry from ordinary citizens and medical officials around the world that China was ignoring an impending medical crisis.

Previously, Chinese state media had reported little on SARS, usually running brief items citing official statements that the disease was under control. Journalists at state media were ordered to avoid independent reporting on the outbreak.

Meanwhile, progress was reported on another front: Scientists in Canada said Sunday they had identified the genetic code of the virus suspected of causing SARS _ a surprisingly quick achievement that is the first step toward a diagnostic test and possible vaccine.

Many of the fatalities from SARS have been elderly people or patients suffering from other chronic health problems, such as heart or kidney diseases. But six people who died in Hong Kong over the weekend ranged in age from 35 to 52 and had no prior health problems.

The senior executive manager of Hong Kong's Hospital Authority, Dr. Liu Shao-haei, said Monday that some of the younger patients came to the hospital when they already were in a serious condition and their conditions worsened even after they received intensive care.

On Monday, doctors in Hong Kong started prescribing heavier doses of medicine during the early stages of SARS to try to cure people before they need intensive care.

Most SARS cases have been in Asia, where worried governments have tightened the screening of passengers at airports and invoked strict quarantine rules. Also Monday, five people suspected of having SARS were hospitalized and a sixth was quarantined in Mongolia. They all visited a hospital in neighboring China's Inner Mongolia province, where three deaths have been reported.

In Canada, the hardest hit country outside Asia, scientists at the British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver worked 24 hours a day for six days to sequence the genetic code of the virus suspected of causing SARS.

Researchers reported that the gene sequence suggests a previously unknown coronavirus unrelated to any known human or animal viruses.

The sequencing was an "extraordinary step," said Dick Thompson, a spokesman for the Geneva-based World Health Organization, which has tracked the spread of SARS.

Although scientists have yet to isolate the cause of SARS and find a cure, most of those infected recover with prompt medical attention. About 4 percent have died, and doctors have said patients with aggravating illnesses appear most at risk.